Community briefs for Feb. 20

Women’s Connection

Columbia Falls Women’s Connection will host a Bunco fundraising party on Saturday, March 2 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the North Valley Hospital Community Room in Columbia Falls. Come join other women for an afternoon of fun, refreshments and prizes. You must be 18 years old to play and a $10 donation is requested. Reservations are required by Feb. 27. Call Janet at 892-3621 or email Diana at wconnectionbunco@gmail.com. All proceeds donated to Stonecroft Ministries.

Seed event

Free the Seeds! returns to Flathead Valley Community College on Saturday, March 2 for a fourth year of workshops, conversations and free seeds. Organizers expect more than 1,000 people to attend this free fair, which runs 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the FVCC Arts & Technology Building.

The event will offer more than 20 educational workshops by local experts, at least 30 booths with resources and information about accessing, growing and processing food locally, a seed exchange and community conversations focused the state of the valley’s food system and ways to make it stronger. Free the Seeds! is a free community-powered program of Farm Hands – Nourish the Flathead and has a mission of building a sustainable and resilient future through real seeds, real food and real skills. Free the Seeds! can be found online at freetheseedsmontana.com.

Decorations

The Whitefish winter decorations will be taken down for the season on Sunday, Feb. 24. Volunteers should meet at 9 a.m. at the intersection of Third Street and Central Avenue in downtown Whitefish. Volunteers should dress appropriately for the weather and bring gloves. New volunteers are always welcome to help with this long-time community project. Contact Chris Schustrom at 406-260-1198 with questions.

Speaker Series

The annual Wilderness Speaker Series is at the Flathead Valley Community’s College’s Art and Technology Building, in room 139. Lectures are through April, from 7 to 8:15 p.m. There is no charge.

Here’s the lineup:

March 6: Wilderness Fisheries Management: Speakers: Jim Vashro, retired Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks fisheries manager, Leo Rosenthal, FWP fisheries biologist, and Matt Boyer FWP science program supervisor, will describe efforts to preserve fisheries integrity in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

April 3: Speaker Susan Purvis — an explorer, educator, and Go Find author will talk about how a backpack trip in the Bob Marshall Wilderness changed her life and launched her career. All presentations are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Meg Killen at stewardship@bmwf.org or 387-3822.

Art contest

VFW Auxiliary Post 276, 20 Baker Ave, Whitefish, welcomes all students in grades 9-12 (including home-schooled), who meet the qualifications to participate in its yearly art competition. Download the entry form at https://vfwauxiliary.org/scholarships/young-american-creative-patriotic-art-contest/ Your entry must be received by March 31 at the nearest participating Auxiliary. Whitefish contact is Cindy Fredericks at 862-4949.